Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies

The Hispanic World is a vast and dynamic region of the globe with a rich cultural history. Spanish and Portuguese originated from the interaction of Latin brought by the Romans to the Iberian Peninsula with indigenous languages. The Arabs who lived in Spain and Portugal over 800 years also left their imprint on the language and on other languages still spoken today such as Catalan, Galician, and Basque.

Spanish and Portuguese spread throughout the globe through the voyages of exploration and conquest beginning in the 15 th century, so that now these languages and their descendants are spoken in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. More people in absolute terms speak Portuguese as a native language than German or French, totaling some 170 million. Native speakers of Spanish also outnumber native speakers of English by about 10 million. In North America, Hispanics have become the most important minority, roughly 20% of the US population. Canada also has a number of important immigrant communities from the Hispanic World, and Edmonton is home to many people of Chilean, Brazilian, Salvadoran and Portuguese descent.

At the University of Alberta, we endeavor to train our students in linguistic competence and cultural literacy vis-à-vis the Hispanic world. We offer courses in language, literature and culture, and linguistics from the absolute beginners to the graduate level. Our mission is to provide our students with the language and critical thinking skills required in today's global world, to understand the complexities of intercultural exchange, and to prepare them for careers in a number of fields that include education, law, international relations, and business. We invite you to explore our programs and course offerings. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further information requests.

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